Features

The superior choice for challenging shooting conditions

The LUMIX DMC-LF1 is the superior choice for challenging shooting conditions, and it¿s the only* pocket-able premium zoom camera with an eye-level adjustable electronic viewfinder in its class. The LUMIX DMC-LF1 brings together modern mobile connectivity with a no compromises approach to photography that many camera enthusiasts demand, plus it slips easily into your pocket. Discover greater control and creative flexibility over most point-and-shoot cameras by integrating features like Creative Panorama and the popular LUMIX Creative Control mode, which boasts 15 fascinating filter effects for photo and HD video. Enthusiasts will love its Exposure Control Ring, Composition Guide, high sensitivity MOS sensor, and super bright 7.1X F2.0 zoom lens.

The DMC-LF1 takes advantage of the power of mobile connectivity found in your smartphone. With Wi-Fi connectivity using NFC (Near Field Communication) technology, you can easily connect the camera to your smartphone/tablet anywhere simply by touching them together, making it easier than ever to share images. Utilize a smartphone/tablet as a remote shutter with a monitor, or use the Instant Transfer function to automatically send photos to your smartphone/tablet right after shooting. Combine your smartphone with the Panasonic Image App and you¿ll be sharing your photos to your favorite Social Networks in no time. Easily archive both photos and videos automatically to your computer at home via a wireless access point (router).
*As of 04/24/2013 time of Announcement.

Built-in Electronic Viewfinder, Sleek Stylish Design, 3.0-inch LCD

The DMC-LF1 is a sleek, stylish digital compact camera that comes with a 0.2-inch EVF (Electronic Viewfinder) with 200K-dot resolution and 100% field of view. This assures controllable framing and high visibility of your live view image even in strong sunlight. Designed with an eye for detail, it offers a sense of luxury that will satisfy even the most fashion-conscious. The 3.0-inch, 920,000-dot Intelligent LCD with super high resolution and a wide viewing angle features automatic brightness adjustment in 7 steps as the surrounding brightness level changes. This ensures easy visibility at all times. The big screen¿s AR coating reflects fine details, making it easy to check the focus before shooting.

For beginners of Digital Single Lens Mirrorless cameras, iA (Intelligent Auto) mode helps you make beautiful pictures with a variety of shooting-assist functions including AF Tracking, Intelligent D-range Control, Intelligent Scene Selector, Face Recognition and Intelligent ISO Control. The iA Plus mode lets you adjust background focus, exposure compensation, and white balance for even more control. The DMC-LF1 integrates a 1/1.7-inch, 12.1-megapixel High Sensitivity MOS Sensor, which is larger than standard digital compact cameras. The result is a high-resolution image with stunning clarity. The extensive light receiving area of each cell delivers high sensitivity image recording in lower light with its excellent S/N ratio and wide dynamic range.

Be Inspired With Creative Controls, Panorama, and Composition Guides

The LF1¿s Creative Control and Creative Retouch modes feature 15 filter effects. The Creative Control mode lets you shoot with a filter while checking how it looks on the picture. Certain filters can be used for video recording as well. The Creative Retouch mode lets you apply a filter on a picture, in camera, even after shooting. With the Creative Panorama function, you can apply 13 filter effects to your horizontal/vertical panoramic images. Composition Guide helps you learn photography. It¿s easy to shoot a photo with great composition by simply choosing the most suitable pattern of composition and framing along the guided lines.

Superior Quality F2.0 LEICA Lens, 7.1x Optical Zoom, and POWER O.I.S.

The DMC-LF1 is equipped with a newly developed 28mm wide-angle LEICA DC VARIO-SUMMICRON lens with 7.1x optical zoom (35mm camera equivalent: 28-200mm) even when shooting videos. This high quality lens features F2.0, which boasts approximately 2x higher speed than an F2.8 lens. The extraordinary amount of light allows for higher shutter speeds to capture stunningly clear, sharp, blur-free images in lower lit situations, and shallow depth of field. The POWER O.I.S. (Optical Image Stabilizer) suppresses vibration from hand-shake when pressing the shutter button, shooting at night with a slow shutter speed, or using a powerful zoom. The Active Mode is effective for video recording.

One-Touch Connection, Sharing, Remote Shooting, and At Home Connectivity

With NFC (Near Field Communication) technology, you can connect the camera with a smartphone/tablet simply by touching them together. With the Panasonic Image App, remote photo/video shooting is available using your device as a remote shutter with a monitor that displays the images live. You¿ll have the power to release the camera¿s shutter, focus, and set the shutter speed, aperture, and exposure compensation. Enjoy easy to use wireless TV Playback of your images with the Wi-Fi Direct¿ function on a DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) - compliant VIERA HDTV. Print your pictures wirelessly from a PictBridge printer using Wireless Print, and use Panasonic's exclusive Cloud Sync Service for synchronizing photos and videos among your devices.

Enjoy Wi-Fi Features On the Go and Transfer Photos Easily With Instant Transfer

With Wi-Fi you can instantly upload and share your images on a Social Networking Service using the Panasonic Image App on your smartphone/tablet. Geotagging makes it possible to tag the location information of images by utilizing the GPS (Global Positioning System) log of your smartphone/tablet. The Instant Transfer function allows the camera to transfer your photos to your smartphone/tablet automatically whenever the shutter is released. In playback mode, you can also touch the image displayed on the camera to transfer it directly to your smartphone/tablet with the Panasonic Image App.

Full-HD Video in AVCHD and MP4 With Quality Stereo Sound

The DMC-LF1 records 1920 x 1080 at 60i (NTSC) full HD videos with full-time AF and high quality stereo sound in the AVCHD format which excels in both compression efficiency and compatibility with AV equipment for playback. With a dedicated video record button on the back, you can instantly start recording videos while shooting pictures. Videos can also be recorded in MP4 format (30p (NTSC) for playback on a PC or other device without having to convert the files. High-quality stereo sound of Dolby® Digital** offers realistic sound, and the stereo microphone delivers a zoom noise reduction system. The Auto Wind Cut function blocks out most of the noise from background wind.
**Manufactured under license from Dolby Laboratories. Dolby and the double-D symbol are trademarks of Dolby Laboratories.

NOTE*1 / Recording conditions by CIPA standard / - Temperature: 23 oC (73.4 oF) / Humidity: 50%RH when LCD monitor is on. / - Using a Panasonic SDHC Memory Card / - Using the supplied battery. / - Starting recording 30 seconds after the camera is turned on. (When the optical image stabilizer function is set to [ON].) / - Recording once every 30 seconds with full flash every second recording. / - Rotating the zoom lever from Tele to Wide or vice versa in every recording. / - The number of recordable pictures varies depending on the recording interval time. / - If the recording interval time becomes longer, the number of recordable pictures decreases. / - CIPA is an abbreviation of [Camera & Imaging Products Association]. / *2 / - These are standard times taken at a temperature of 23 oC (73.4 oF) and a humidity of 50%RH. / - The time available for recording varies depending on the environment, the interval between recordings, and the manner of use. / - Actual recordable time is the time available for recording when repeating actions such as switching the power supply [ON] / [OFF], starting/stopping recording, zoom operation etc. / - Motion pictures in [MP4] can be recorded continuously for up to 29 minutes 59 seconds. Also, motion picture recorded continuously in [MP4] is up to 4 GB.

Reviews

Rated 4.2 out of 5 by 9
reviewers.

Rated 3 out of 5 by mediagiant Not for novices
The LF1 had the potential to be a great camera. The reality does not live up to that potential.
I love the idea of a pocket camera with an eye-level viewfinder. But the viewfinder on this thing is so tiny it's almost useless. If the camera were just a little bit taller, the viewfinder could be a little larger and vastly more useful. You really have to squint.
The camera's button configuration is pretty terrible. With the on/off switch on the outside edge, it's too easy to accidentially shut the camera off when reaching for the shutter button.
I know space is at a premium with a viewfinder and a big LCD screen, but for usability, I think it's nearly criminal not to have a dedicated button to turn the flash on and off or to turn the burst mode on and off. And to use the same button for "Back" in menus that you use to delete photos is REALLY confusing.
When setting up the WiFi for my mother (who is regretting her purchase now), I could not enter her username from her PC because it has a space in it, and the camera does not allow you to enter spaces. I confirmed this with a Panasonic rep. So now she will need to change her Windows 7 username just to make the camera work over WiFi.
When I put the camera in shutter priority mode, it did not warn me at all that I was setting the shutter too fast to properly expose the photo at any aperture/ISO combination. In fact, it did not show these values or the exposure value by default. The result? Very underexposed photos. This will not encourage novice users like my mother to get out of auto mode.
The image quality on this camera is fantastic for a point-and-shoot all the way up to ISO 800 -- and even ISO 1600 looks decent. The flash metering is quite good, so even though it's probably not the best photographic idea, my mom can use the flash and still not come out with photos of people and pets looking like complete ghosts. It's definitely a powerful imaging tool (for a point-and-shoot).
It's just not an intuitive camera; even for a more advanced photographer like me. My poor mother can't stand it at all. I hope Panasonic thinks about these considerations for the next generation.
One more thing: 7.1X is just a bit low on the zoom for a camera like this. I realize it's a larger sensor than most compacts, but with those heading up to 30X, couldn't Panasonic get this one to 10X or 12X? That would be about perfect. A little grip might help.
Small is good because it means you will take it with you more often, but this camera is probably just a smidge TOO small. With just a few tweaks, the next generation could be a lot better.
December 15, 2014

Rated 5 out of 5 by Jimbob Great little camera
This is a great little camera that I carry in my bag along with my full size DSLR bodies and lenses. The camera does everything well and is a dependable back-up for its big brothers. I often use the video on this camera to document or scout for shooting locations. The GPS is perfect to ensure venues can be identified during final selection.The camera also serves well for shooting in circumstances where silence is necessary. It allows me to keep shooting and not disturb neurotic subjects or skittish critters. I am often asked to recommend cameras, and I always put the Lumix at top of my list of choices.
November 27, 2014

Rated 5 out of 5 by Dwegs Not a perfect P&S, but closer than most.
When you want a P&S that is capable (with the right input from the user) of very good results, that will fit a pocket, have a VF that is half decent, and not cost a small fortune... this is pretty much the bees knees.
I purchased one for my wife, who will not tote anything larger, but wanted very good IQ and a viewfinder. After using it for a 2 week trip to the UK, I have to say it covered 99% of what I wanted too.
I typically used an LX5 for this purpose, or my Nikon DSLR's and lenses for high end work or pro stuff. So my frame of reference (pun intended) is broad.
Will it make toast and tea, no. But what it is intended to do, it does very well IMO.
Solid product lacking very little for its purpose, with its only downside being the need for about a 24mm eq. wide end of the lens.
August 30, 2014

Rated 1 out of 5 by chito worst ergonomic design
i have purchased 6 lumix cameras over a period of 9 years. so far this is the model with the worst ergonomic design. i bought this camera because of the viewfinder. it's not perfect but it serves my need for a viewfinder in a compact camera. but i don't understand why panasonic design engineers placed power button beside the shutter... as a result, i always turn the camera off instead of taking a picture. it's so frustrating because most often, i miss important candid moments that i want to capture. a sliding power switch should have been a better alternative but panasonic chose the worst option - a button that feels like a small shutter button. i feel like stupid every time i use this camera so i end up using my dmc-sz7. no view finder but i don't miss my shots...
July 7, 2014